BANGALORE/TOKYO (Reuters) – SoftBank Group Corp (9984.T) founder Masayoshi Son’s dream of a global tech empire is unravelling, with the coronavirus crisis compounding losses at his $100 billion Vision Fund and distress at his big bets portending more pain.
FILE PHOTO: Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp Chief Executive Masayoshi Son attends a news conference in Tokyo, Japan, November 5, 2018. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon/File Photo
More than half of the fund’s capital is in startups that are suffering from the virus impact or exhibiting stress pre-dating the outbreak, a Reuters analysis showed. Ride-hailing usage at flagship transport investments has fallen more than 50% and six SoftBank-backed startups have pushed IPO plans from this year to next.
The Japanese conglomerate has already flagged a 1.8 trillion yen ($17 billion) loss at the fund for the year to March – during which Son’s “intuitive” bet WeWork spectacularly imploded – unsettling Middle Eastern backers which stumped up…
Source Reuters Tech News
Source link
